The Thrive by Five Campaign was launched in 2020, with a goal to achieve a universally accessible, high quality early learning and childcare system that gives every child in Australia the best chance to reach their full potential. The compelling evidence about brain development in the early years, and the potential to reduce inequity among Australian families and address the persistence of developmental vulnerability in children were driving forces for initiating the campaign. 

Established by the Minderoo Foundation, the Thrive by Five (TB5) Campaign is advocating for the reform of the early childhood development (ECD) system in Australia. In its first years, early education and care has been the entry point for the TB5 longer term advocacy work. 

What will be the focus of the webinar? 
The webinar will feature the TB5 Campaign’s strategic choices and tactics for addressing the key challenges in reforming the ECD system, as well as the main narratives built in the campaign that shaped the value proposition of the campaign and made it different from previous ones and more impactful. 

What have been the campaign’s achievements so far? 
To mention a few: 

• Commitments of more than $55 billion over the next 10 years to new ECD-related reforms. 
• The Australian Government’s commitment to lift childcare subsidy rates as a precursor to implementing a 90 per cent subsidy rate for all families.
• Joint statement by the Victorian and New South Wales governments to introduce an additional year of preschool, and to increase the universal entitlement to preschool from 15 to 30 hours per week.

Did the campaign lead to changes in public opinion? 
According to a public survey ran in the first year of the campaign: 

• The agreement that cheaper early childhood education and care would be very good for the Australian economy increased from 55 per cent to 70 per cent.
• The proportion of 18-34-year-olds who agreed that support for early learning and accessible childcare would affect voting intentions increased from 58 per cent to 75 per cent.
• Seventy-two per cent of Australians supported implementing a universal high-quality early childhood education and care system. 
• Fifty-five per cent of women aged 18-34 said a universal high-quality early childhood education and care system would help address gender inequality.

As an early childhood network, ISSA advocates for the importance of ECD in Europe and Central Asia. Together with Eurochild, we co-lead the First Years, First Priority Europe-wide Campaign, calling for prioritization of early childhood development in public policies. This webinar is part of our efforts to facilitate a learning community in our network and beyond.

Join us to get inspired and sharpen your advocacy plans by learning from the success of peers in Australia and register via this link!